San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Moving the City

San Francisco voters approved Proposition AA on November 2, 2010. Download our press release (PDF) on the approval of the proposition. The Vehicle Registration Fee will use revenues collected from an additional $10 each on motor vehicles registered in the City and County of San Francisco for local road repairs, pedestrian safety improvements, and transit reliability improvements throughout the City.

On July 20, 2010 the Authority Board approved Resolution 11-10 (PDF) which authorized the Final Expenditure Plan (PDF) for a new $10 Vehicle Registration Fee and placed the measure on the November 2010 ballot. In early August, the San Francisco Department of Elections designated the measure as Proposition AA.

Check out the Proposition AA Vehicle Registration Fee fact sheet (PDF) and the San Francisco Department of Elections site for additional information on Proposition AA.

• Background
  
• Schedule
• Final Draft Expenditure Plan
• SB 83 CAC Subcommittee 
• SB 83 Stakeholder Advisory Panel 
• Memos to the Plans and Programs Committee
• Memo to the Finance Committee
• Memos to the CAC

Background

The opportunity for a Congestion Management Agency to place this fee before the voters was authorized last year by the passage of Senate Bill 83, authored by Senator Loni Hancock. San Francisco has significant unfunded transportation needs, and this fee will provide a stable source of funding to meet some of those needs.

The Vehicle Registration Fee is part of an overall strategy to develop a balanced, well thought-out program that improves transportation for San Francisco residents and has the potential to generate up to $5 million per year.

On December 15, 2009, the Authority Board approved Resolution 10-37, authorizing the Executive Director to initiate the development of an Expenditure Plan pursuant to the requirements in SB 83 so that the Authority Board could place the vehicle registration fee and its specific Expenditure Plan on the November 2010 ballot by a simple majority vote. SB 83 requires that the fees collected be used only to pay for programs and projects bearing a relationship or benefit to the owners of motor vehicles paying the fee and be consistent with the Regional Transportation Plan. It also requires that the Authority Board make a specified finding of fact in that regard. The guidance in SB 83 is broad regarding what types of projects are eligible, but could include bicycle and pedestrian projects, local streets and roads projects, transit projects, traffic signal coordination, and roadway operational improvements. Imposition of the fee is subject to a simple majority vote of the San Francisco electorate.

Download more information on Senate Bill No. 83 (PDF).

Schedule

Placing a vehicle registration fee on the November 2010 ballot entailed a tight timeline for developing and approving an Expenditure Plan and the required relationship and benefit study. This timeline and the relatively small amount of funds available (e.g. about $5 million annually compared to over $70 million annually for the Prop K half-cent sales tax) called for a very focused and streamlined approach to development of the Expenditure Plan. The schedule (PDF) enabled the Authority Board to place the vehicle registration fee ordinance on the November 2010 ballot. It shows key dates and indicates activities and deliverables on a monthly basis. The schedule provided nearly monthly updates to the Plans and Programs Committee and Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), and the establishment of a stakeholder advisory panel and subcommittee of the CAC to inform the process.

Final Draft Expenditure Plan

Over the last eight months, the Authority worked with numerous stakeholders to develop an Expenditure Plan that articulates how revenues will be used.

The proposed fee will fund programs that:

• Repair and reconstruct our local streets and roads with priority given to streets located on San Francisco's bicycle and transit networks and to projects that include complete streets elements such as curb ramps, bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian improvements, and traffic calming.
• Increase the safety and usability of streets for pedestrians, including crosswalk improvements, sidewalk repair and widening, corner bulbouts, and pedestrian lighting and signals.
• Make public transportation more efficient, reliable, and accessible, including transit station and stop improvements, transit signal priority, travel information improvements, innovative parking management pilots, and transportation demand management.

The Expenditure Plan was developed with the following guiding principles:

• Provide a documentable benefit or relationship to those paying the fee
• Limit the Expenditure Plan to a few programmatic categories, given the relatively small revenue stream
• Focus on small, but high-impact projects that will provide tangible benefits in the short-term
• Provide a fair geographic distribution that takes into account the various needs of San Francisco's neighborhoods
• Ensure accountability and transparency in programming and delivery

Related documents:

• Final Expenditure Plan (PDF)
  
• Resolution 11-10, which placed the measure on the ballot (PDF)
  

SB 83 CAC Subcommittee

• May 4, 2010 Meeting Agenda (PDF)
• May 4, 2010 Meeting Minutes (PDF) (N/A)
  
• April 12, 2010 Meeting Agenda (PDF)
• April 12, 2010 Meeting Minutes (PDF)
• March 11, 2010 Meeting Agenda (PDF)
• March 11, 2010 Meeting Minutes (PDF)

The Subcommittee of the CAC was established to inform the process of the development of an Expenditure Plan for a potential new vehicle registration fee in San Francisco. Members of the subcommittee include:

• Jul Lynn Parsons
• Peter Tannen
• Jacqualine Sachs
  
• Robert Switzer

SB 83 Stakeholder Advisory Panel

The Stakeholder Advisory Panel was established to provide valuable feedback into the development of an Expenditure Plan for the new vehicle registration fee in San Francisco. Members of the panel include:

• Jean Fraser
  
• Gillian Gillett
• Jim Haas
• John Holtzclaw
• Jim Lazarus
• Gabe Metcalf
• Andy Thornley

Memos to the Plans and Programs Committee

• June 15, 2010 memo (PDF)
  
• May 11, 2010 memo (PDF)
  
• April 20, 2010 memo (PDF)
  
• March 23, 2010 memo (PDF)
  
• February 9, 2010 memo (PDF)
• December 8, 2009 memo (PDF)

Memo to the Finance Committee

• November 10, 2009 memo (PDF)
  

Memos to the CAC

• June 9, 2010 memo (PDF)
• May 26, 2010 memo (PDF)
• April 28, 2010 memo (PDF)
• March 24, 2010 memo (PDF)
• February 24, 2010 memo (PDF)
• January 27, 2010 memo (PDF)
• December 9, 2009 memo (PDF)

Authority Contact

Chad Rathmann, Transportation Planner for the SFCTA, at 415.522.4825 or via email.